Special prosecutor in Perry bribe case requests investigator

Michael McCrum, the special prosecutor named to investigate the complaint that Gov. Rick Perry threatened Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, has filed a motion requesting permission to hire an investigator and research assistant.

Asked the significance of the development, McCrum said that motion “should indicate there is a matter that needs to be looked into.”

But he also said that prosecutors often hire investigators to interview witnesses as a way to avoid being called as a witness themselves.

“These are steps that needed to be taken because I don’t want to put myself in the position where I am a witness,” he said.

He also said the research assistant could perform work more cheaply than he could.

McCrum is reviewing a complaint filed by Texans for Public Justice, an Austin government watchdog group, accusing Perry of using his veto powers to coerce Lehmberg to resign her office after her conviction this spring of driving while intoxicated. Perry threatened to veto state budget funds for the Public Integrity Unit, which operates out of the Travis County district attorney’s office if she did not quit. She didn’t, and Perry struck $7.4 million for the office from the state budget.